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Yesterday's Enterprise (episode)
When the starship Enterprise-C, lost for 22 years, comes through a temporal rift, events are drastically changed, and the Federation is suddenly at war with the Klingons. Summary Worf and Guinan are discussing prune juice and companionship in Ten-Forward, when the ''Enterprise''-D encounters a strange rift in space. Investigating, the crew are unable to confirm exactly what the phenomenon is, but it appears to have a temporal component. Suddenly, a starship emerges from the rift. And everything changes. The ship takes on a harsh, dark look. Worf is gone. So is Troi. And Tasha Yar is once again at tactical. Guinan senses something isn't right. The unknown ship comes to a halt near the Enterprise-D. It is the USS Enterprise... [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-C)|NCC-1701-'C']]. :"Military log, combat date 43625.2. While investigating an unusual radiation anomaly, the ''Enterprise has encountered what could almost be called a ghost from its own past - the Enterprise-''C'', the immediate predecessor to this battleship."'' As this changed crew consider how this rendezvous came about, the Enterprise-C sends out a distress call, and Picard and Riker clash over how to deal with the situation. As Riker leaves to beam over to the stricken ship, Ensign Crusher receives a message. Klingon ships are on their way, and Picard orders battle alert. The Enterprise-C is in bad shape. The majority of her bridge crew are dead, the vessel heavily damaged. Riker and Yar beam over with an away team to find Captain Rachel Garrett at her post, wounded. While Dr. Crusher beams away with her patient, Tasha and Riker discover another survivor, Lt. Richard Castillo, the ship's helmsman. The away team reports back to Picard aboard the Enterprise-D. Riker wants to salvage the ship, but Picard cautions that they can't stay in the area too long. They have nine hours to get the Enterprise-C underway to Starbase 105, or they will be forced to scuttle her. At that moment, Guinan enters the bridge. Seemingly disoriented, she walks up to Picard, claiming that things are "not the way they're supposed to be." In his ready room, Picard questions Guinan's "discovery." Things don't feel "right" to her. The bridge, the crew's uniforms, their attitudes. Picard counters that this is the way it's always been, and asks what else has changed. Families, Guinan says. There should be children on the ship. Picard scoffs at the idea - the Federation is at war. No, Guinan says. Enterprise isn't a ship of war, but of peace. And the only way to restore that truth... is to send the Enterprise-C back. Reeling from this revelation, Picard arrives in Sickbay to meet Captain Garrett, undergoing surgery. Garrett asks where they came from, but Picard deflects it with wanting to know how her ship ended up here. Garrett becomes agitated, and demands to know where she is. Picard tells her that they have travelled 22 years into the future. Garrett wants her crew to be informed, but Picard's concern is if they return back with future knowledge, it could upset the timeline even more than their current position has done. When Garrett tells him of the battle they were engaged in at the time of their "transit," he tells her that history never recorded their stand at Narendra III, a Klingon outpost attacked by Romulan forces. The outpost was destroyed, and twenty years of war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire was the result... Back aboard the Enterprise-C, Castillo struggles with the news that he is twenty years out of time, as Yar works to bring the weapons systems up to spec, and attempt to rationalise the situation. According to Yar, the war has resulted in extensive casualties for Starfleet, over half the fleet lost. Castillo remarks that negotiations for a peace treaty were well underway when the Enterprise left on her mission. Yar says there have been a lot of changes. Castillo suggests she fill him in on them. Data reports that if the Enterprise-C were to return through the rift, she would emerge in the midst of battle. With no chance of survival. Yar and Castillo report to Captain Garrett, still in the Enterprise-D's sickbay, on the current repair situation. When Yar reports the incoming Klingon threat, Garrett tries to leave, clashing with Crusher as she does so. Guinan once again comes to Picard in the conference lounge, now transformed into a strategic operations centre. Picard can't let them return. Guinan states he must. With anger, Picard asks who decides which timeline is the right one? Guinan says her. That isn't good enough for Picard. He will not allow one hundred and twenty-five people to sacrifice their lives on her "feeling." Forty billion people have already been lost in this war, Guinan snaps back. A war that isn't and shouldn't be happening. She repeats that the only way to save those billions is to sacrifice that small group of people. But there is no guarantee of success, and everything Picard is tells him that the idea is wrong, dangerous and futile. Guinan can't fight Picard's logic, but simply asks him to trust her. Guinan then returns to Ten-Forward, where she runs into Tasha and Castillo, discussing improvements to the deflector system. There is a brief, awkward conversation between the two, Tasha aware that something is wrong, before Guinan goes to get their order. Tasha and Castillo's conversation begins to head towards more personal territory, Castillo asking her to call him Richard, before they are interrupted by a call from Picard. Heading out, Tasha and Guinan share another uncomfortable moment. Picard briefs the senior officers on his decision. There is a great deal of confusion and disagreement, Riker in particular speaking out against the plan to return the Enterprise-C, considering it a meaningless death. However, Data points out that to the Klingons, it would be an honorable death, possibly even preventing the war, Picard notes. Preoccupied by a comment made by Geordi as they depart the ready room, Tasha joins Data in a turbolift, where he makes the point that if history is restored, no memory of the altered timeline will exist for those within it. This disturbs Tasha even more. As the crew of the Enterprise-C continue repairs, Garrett and Picard discuss possibilities for the ship either staying or returning, and Guinan's accuracy. Picard trusts her judgement. Garrett knows there is no chance for survival, and suggests the Enterprise-D return with them, but she knows it is an empty suggestion. Many of the Enterprise-C's crew want to return, but Garrett is resigned to staying in 2366 to help the war effort. Picard, however, reveals a disturbing fact: the Federation is losing the war. One starship can make no impact in the present... but twenty-two years ago, one ship could stop the war before it starts. Garrett tells Castillo to inform the crew they will return to their own time. She promises Picard history will remember their actions. As Picard beams back to the Enterprise-D, Yar and Castillo say their goodbyes. They are interrupted by an attack from a Klingon Bird-of-Prey, on a scouting mission. Despite fire from the Enterprise-D, the Bird-of-Prey scores some crucial hits on the Enterprise-C. As the Bird-of-Prey disappears under cloak, Picard hails Garrett... only to hear Tasha reporting her death... Castillo is prepared to lead the Enterprise-C back to their own time, and time has now become a factor. The temporal rift is destabilising, and more Klingon ships are likely on their way. Picard gives his assent. The Enterprise-D will cover her predecessor's retreat. Tasha and Castillo share yet another goodbye, and a tender kiss, as he beams back to the Enterprise-C. From there, Tasha goes to Ten Forward, to confront Guinan about her fate in the other timeline. Guinan reveals that Tasha is supposed to be dead, killed without reason or purpose (see TNG: "Skin of Evil"). Resolved, Tasha heads to Picard, to request a transfer to the Enterprise-C, in need of a tactical officer. Picard is disturbed that Guinan felt it necessary to give Tasha that information, but Tasha responds that she wanted to know. She wants a chance to help the Enterprise-C restore history, and die for something worth dying for. Picard considers, and allows the transfer. Aboard the Enterprise-C, Castillo is making final preparations for departure, as Tasha reports for duty. First seeing it as a joke, Castillo then tells her he doesn't want her aboard, but Tasha knows she is the best person for the job. Castillo agrees, and orders her to take her station... :"Military log, supplemental. Lieutenant Tasha Yar has transferred to the ''Enterprise-C, where she has taken over Tactical duties. Meanwhile, our long-range scanners have picked up Klingon battlecruisers on an intercept course."'' Three Klingon cruisers are enroute to intercept the two Enterprise''s. Riker is surprised at their audacity, approaching uncloaked, noting that at Archer IV (seemingly a recent battle), the ''Enterprise-D was victorious. Picard nods, and addresses the crew: :"[[Media:The_name_Enterprise.ogg|''Attention all hands. As you know, we could outrun the Klingon vessels. But, we must protect the Enterprise-C until she enters the temporal rift. And we must succeed! Let's make sure that history never forgets... the name... Enterprise]]." The battle begins. The Klingon ships focus all of their firepower on the more powerful ''Galaxy''-class vessel, and the Enterprise-D quickly takes damage, while the Klingon ships take only shield damage. As the Klingon ships attempt to corral the Enterprise-D away from her protectee, Picard and his crew continue to hold them off. Antimatter containment suffers damage, as one of the Klingon ships is eliminated. A small victory however, as the remaining ships knock out the main sensor array, and cause critical damage to the warp core. The shields collapse, and the containment field is failing. As Geordi works to shutdown the warp core, plasma coolant bursts free of the core manifold, and the warp core builds to overload. There are two minutes until the core breaches. Geordi runs back into the clouds of coolant, evacuating his personnel. The Enterprise-C is less than a minute from the rift. Picard orders all remaining power to defensive systems, but the damage has taken out the Enterprise-D's forward phaser banks, and, with another exchange of fire, Riker is killed when part of the tactical console explodes. The Klingons signal for surrender. Picard leaps the tactical rail, and continues to fight on, as the bridge becomes engulfed in flames... The Klingon ships batter away at the now helpless Enterprise-D, as the Enterprise-C flies back through the rift... Picard stands on the bridge, fully restored. The rift is closing, and what appeared to be a ship has now vanished. Worf is back at his proper place, Riker is alive, and the Enterprise prepares to leave for Archer IV. Picard orders a probe left behind to monitor the rift, as Guinan calls up, checking everything is alright. When she receives an affirmative, she smiles, and goes to sit opposite Geordi in Ten Forward. "Geordi, tell me about... Tasha Yar..." Background Information Creation and Production The original pitch of "Yesterday's Enterprise" to Paramount was made by Trent Christopher Ganino in April 1989, as a script submitted through the open submissions policy introduced by Michael Piller in that year. This original version featured the appearance of an Enterprise from the past in the TNG time period, and the resultant dilemma of whether to send them back. In this version, however, no alterations were made to the timeline - the central theme was simply the moral dilemma presented. The script was bought by the TNG staff, and assigned to be revised by the show's writing staff. At the same time, following a conversation with Denise Crosby at a convention, Eric Stillwell developed a story that would allow Tasha Yar to return to the series after a two-year absence. In Stillwell's pitch, "Shattered Time" - drawing from classic Trek episodes "Yesteryear" and "The Savage Curtain", amongst others - the Vulcan Sarek would inadvertently cause the death of Surak, the founder of Vulcan philosophy, when a trip through the Guardian of Forever into Vulcan's ancient past goes wrong. As a result, the Vulcan people would never become the logical race that is known in the Trek universe. Instead, a Vulcan more akin to the Romulan Star Empire would be engaged in war against the other powers of the galaxy, including the remnants of the Federation. As part of this alteration, Tasha Yar would be present amongst the crew of the Enterprise. Ultimately, Sarek would sacrifice himself by returning to the past and taking the place of Surak, thus restoring the correct timeline. (A similar theme would reoccur in the DS9 two-part episode, "Past Tense".) When Stillwell pitched his idea to Michael Piller, he suggested combining it with the "Yesterday's Enterprise" story - which had also developed a Tasha Yar element by this point, largely on the suggestion of Pillar, who had also wanted to find a way of bringing the character back - with Ganino and Stillwell retaining joint story credit. The Vulcans were replaced by the Klingons, and the Sarek/Surak plotline excised. The finished pitch storyline was largely as broadcast - with the exception of Guinan's presence in the episode (in the completed pitch, an alien probe provided the crucial information about the timeline alteration). Some other minor plot points were lost between story and teleplay, including a Tasha/Data subplot that was dropped for time. Production on the episode was originally scheduled for January of 1990; however, with the introduction of Guinan into the episode, the filming schedule needed to be moved up in order to accomodate both Crosby and Whoopi Goldberg. As a result, the pitched storyline needed to be turned into a teleplay over the Thanksgiving weekend of 1989, prior to filming commencing on December 11. Four members of the writing staff - Ira Steven Behr, Ronald D. Moore, Hans Beimler and Richard Manning - divided the episode amongst themselves in order to get the episode completed on time. Behr noted that although the writers were unhappy about the timescale pressure and having to work over a holiday, they enjoyed the chance to write an episode far darker than had been done in the past, with a great deal more tension - something many of the staff had felt was lacking in the series. Michael Piller added a final polish to the script, but agreed to be omitted from the credit to meet Writer's Guild rules. The episode was the second directed by David Carson. Time and budgetary constraints put an end to the much more gruesome climactic battle sequence that was originally envisaged in the script. The only death to survive to the broadcast episode is Riker's - others that were written but unfilmed included the decapitation of Wesley Crusher and the electrocution of Data. Alterations Sets The sets and atmosphere of the Enterprise-D were given significant alterations to reflect the more warlike nature of the starship: *The bridge was heavily redressed: **The mid-level, covering the command deck and the ramp access to Tactical, was raised up to the same level as the "horseshoe" console - access to Conn and Ops was by a series of steps directly in front of the command position **the chairs at the command deck were removed, and replaced with a single command chair for Picard. As a result, Will Riker joined Tasha Yar at Tactical. **The equipment lockers at either side of the set were replaced with additional displays, with two freestanding consoles located at the forward edges of the raised mid-level. **A grille mesh was added to the underside of the Tactical console. **The set's ambient lighting was significantly reduced - the overhead lighting changed from a bright white to a dull blue. *Ten-Forward's back wall, usually adorned by a stylised sculpture, was replaced by a functional grey bulkhead, with the Enterprise registry details prominently displayed. Here, the ambient lighting was reversed from the change made to the bridge, being made significantly brighter. *Picard's ready room received similar lighting treatment to the bridge. In addition, the accoutrements that were normally present - the Enterprise painting, the couch, the works of Shakespeare, the NCC-7100 model, and Livingston - were all removed, and replaced with status displays and tactical maps. *The conference room set was cut in two to serve as two apparently different rooms - where Guinan confronts Picard for a second time, and where Castillo meets Picard, Riker and Yar at the top of Act Three. Smaller versions of the conference room table were created, the Enterprise models removed, and a large tactical display added - in the first instance, at the 'front' end of the set; in the second, along the back wall opposite the conference room windows. *Main Engineering was also significantly darkened for its brief appearance towards the end of the episode - the lighting dominated by the warp core. *The ambient noise aboard the ship was increased - consoles and displays were made much more audible, the usually unheard engines were made into a dull roar, intraship communications were general announcements, rather than direct hails person-to-person, and the door "swoosh" was made more audible, and more reminiscent of the sound effect used in the original series. *The darker atmosphere and metallic phaser belts are reminiscient of Mirror, Mirror. Diane Duane seems to have used this episode, along with The Mirror Universe Saga, as a guide in describing the I.S.S. Enterprise in her novel Dark Mirror. Costumes The standard Starfleet uniform was also made more functional and military in design - the officers' uniform was made high-collared, without the central 'dip' found on the ordinary design. All personnel wore a stylised belt, with the Starfleet delta at the clasp, designed to carry a type-2 phaser prominently on the left hip. The junior officers' uniform was largely unchanged - aside from the aforementioned belt, the uniform was augmented by a brace type accessory that was connected to the belt. The uniforms used by the crew of the Enterprise-C were those employed by the original series movies, sans the collared undershirts, and the Starfleet insignia belts. The insignia pins now doubled as combadges, and the type-2 phaser from Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was used as the standard sidearm. Trivia *The original airing of "Yesterday's Enterprise" earned ratings of 13.1 million viewers - the third highest of the series. *The episode would be voted the most popular episode of the series on two separate occasions - by Starlog readers in 1993 and by a viewer poll in 1994; and the most popular episode of all-time by UK Trek fans in 1996. The US publication TV Guide listed it as one of its top five all-time Trek classics in 1996 and again in 2002. *This episode contains one of the most well-recorded bloopers in the series - during the final scene between Guinan and Geordi (set in the restored timeline), Geordi is still wearing the uniform from the alternate timeline. *"Yesterday's Enterprise" of course marks the return of Tasha Yar and Denise Crosby to TNG, after Tasha's death in "Skin of Evil" (Crosby's last episode filmed was "Symbiosis", the preceding episode). The events of the episode would allow her to return as Sela, in the "Redemption" two-parter. *In the episode's teaser, Guinan introduces Worf to prune juice, which would become his favorite drink-- he referred to it in this episode as "a warrior's drink!" *Eric Stillwell later released a book - detailing the creation and production of the episode - through Lincoln Enterprises. http://store.roddenberry.com/browse.cfm?categoryID=11434&pageID=1&productGroup=112920 Links and References Special Guest Stars *Denise Crosby as Tasha Yar *Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan Guest Stars *Christopher McDonald as Richard Castillo *Tricia O'Neil as Rachel Garrett References alternate timeline; Ambassador class; Archer IV; Battle of Narendra III; cetacean ops; class-1 probe; combat information center; Fredericks; Kim, Joshua; Kerr loop; Klingons; Klingon Bird-of-Prey; Klingon Empire; ''K'Vort''-class; Narendra; Narendra system; Narendra III; Parker; photon torpedo; prune juice; Starbase 105; superstring material; Romulans; Romulan Warbird; Second Federation-Klingon War (alternate timeline); Selar; temporal rift; Thomas; TKL rations. Category:TNG episodes de:Die alte Enterprise nl:Yesterday's Enterprise